When it comes to decisions and trends, this year was a momentous one for Appalachian State University. The university is no doubt changing at the speed of light.
        Here’s a look at how decisions made this year at Appalachian may affect students in the future:

Athletic fee increase
    The approval of the athletic fee increase is, admittedly, great for athletics. While it’s positive that Appalachian is growing into a modern and well-equipped varsity athletics program, let’s just hope there aren’t any emergencies in the other student areas, such as technology, which are now skating on thin ice due to the rerouting of an annual 5 percent student fee increase.
    If the athletic fee situation is any indicator, there are serious questions that will need to be answered in the future about where the administration’s priorities lie, especially in a time of crisis.

Campus housing
    For the first time, Appalachian is facing a population crunch. Due to the influx of freshmen, on-campus spots are far from assured to juniors and seniors. This has forced many students to find locations off campus, putting an increased strain on Boone’s resources. If this trend continues, students will have an increasingly harder time finding a place to live.
   
Budget
    Budget problems are already affecting the classroom at Appalachian, including offering larger class sizes with fewer resources. Unless the economy turns around, students will face paying more and more tuition for less and less education.
    Rape and sexual assault
    The issue of rape and sexual assault has been and continues to a problem on campus. The Committee for Integrity at Appalachian (CIA), which conducted a study last year revealing the extent of these problems, has applied for a grant from the federal government. If the CIA receives this grant, questions arise: Will they have the support from the administration needed to fight this problem, or will they be stuck fighting alone? Conversely, will the CIA be willing to team up with other campus groups on the issue of rape and sexual assault?
   
SGA
    The president and vice president of the Student Government Association face an uphill battle next year. While SGA had some successes in raising student voter registration and other efforts, there is still a woeful lack of meaningful, campus-based legislation and connection with the larger student body.
    Questionaires that showed how little most students know about SGA, their failure to organize significant resistance to the athletic fee plan, and the continuing problem of senator absences show there is a lot of work to be done in SGA.
   
Construction
    Finally, the physical shape of the campus itself is changing. No doubt construction will make Appalachian better in the future, but for now the massive projects on campus are causing increased strain on parking, traffic patterns and students with disabilities.
    However the future turns out, one thing is sure: Appalachian is changing.